I’ll admit it - I love a good quiz! We all have a special “zone” in the creative process where we feel right at home. Whether working on a performance piece, building a show, or running a studio, this quiz reveals which stage within the creative process makes you shine brightest. And you know me - cited sources are at the end. Have fun!
Take the quiz! When getting dressed for training, I: a) Wear whatever feels right. Sometimes I don’t even match. b) Consider my goals/to-dos that day and dress accordingly. c) Put together coordinated outfits. When choreographing a piece, my favorite part is: a) Improvising! I feel at home tossing around 100 different ideas. b) Making a statement. I want my piece to have a clear purpose and intent. c) Refining the details. Each gesture and moment contributes to the whole. When collaborating with others, I am the one who: a) Brings a shoebox full of ideas to the table. b) Reminds the group to focus on the goal of the project. c) Shapes the vision into a neat and tidy finished product. The training advice I relate to most is: a) Consider all the movement possibilities within each skill. b) Work harder and toughen up. c) Clean lines and fluid technique make all the difference. Which statement is most true for you? a) I am inspired by feeling. b) I am driven by purpose. c) I am focused on details. My favorite objects are: a) Anything with texture and color. When shopping I always touch the products on the shelf! b) Tools. Whether its a great web app or a hammer, I like things that help get a job done. c) Frames. I like finished edges that showcase the images they surround. One of my faults is: a) Getting distracted easily. I have so many ideas I don’t know what to do with them all. b) Digging in and not wanting to change, OR wanting everyone else to change. c) Getting so bogged down in the details that I forget about the big picture. I am most excited when: a) Exploring a new apparatus or idea. b) Mastering a skill I’ve been training for months, and moving on to the next challenge. c) Showcasing what I’ve learned for family and friends. The life stage I most relate to is: a) Youth. The wonder of childhood reminds me to explore and be creative. b) Teenage Years. I often give advice to those dealing with tough situations. c) Adulthood. I enjoy seeing a career come to fruition and think often about legacies. My favorite apparatus is: a) Invented apparatus, or aerial fabric. There are so many possibilities! b) Static trapeze, rope, or straps. I like the stability and linear movement. c) Aerial hoop or cube. It frames my lines beautifully. During performances, people come to me for: a) Group warm-up games. b) Advice in balancing a handstand or sticking a tricky move. c) Scissors. And eyelash glue. And a sewing kit. The backstage advice I give most often is: a) Enjoy the moment. b) Just do it. You've got this. c) Your rosin is right here. The word that best describes me is: a) whimsical b) methodical c) polished My favorite part of performing is: a) Playing with different hair and make-up ideas. The piece is never done! b) Setting up. I can haul chairs, pop popcorn, or do whatever job needs doing. c) Seeing everyone’s pieces come to fruition. I most prefer: a) Playtime. b) A hard workout. c) Finishing things. Tally your number of a’s _______ b’s ________ c’s ________ And here are the results! Mostly a’s: The Explorer You are an adventurer and creative to the core! Your many ideas win you friends all over, and your whimsical spirit is infectious. You dabble in many different projects, often handing off your ideas to others to finish. You tend to like mornings, youth and anything with the word, “new.” While you may have trouble deciding which projects to focus on (and can’t even fathom finishing anything), your ability to offer ideas to others makes you a prized member of any group. Mostly b’s: The Driver You are on a mission. Everything you do is intentional, with clear purpose. You are known for drilling tough moves again and again, inspiring others to do the same. When a challenge arises, you are just the one to get the job done. People often seek your advice when in difficult situations. Sometimes you dig your heels and resist change (or try to change others to your way of thinking), but your talent for coping with struggle is one your community can use. Mostly c’s: The Publisher You are a curator of the complete. You relish in seeing projects come to fruition. Your eye for finishing touches shows others that the devil is in the details. Clean lines, including straight knees and pointed feet, give you a sense of peace and calm. You are the perfect person to sew on a detached sequin, or save the day with your well stocked performance kit. Sometimes you get bogged down in details and forget about the big picture. But your talent for seeing things through to the very last lighting cue is vital to a smoothly running show. Sources: This quiz was inspired by Dr. Charles Johnston’s Creative Systems Theory (personality types are based on Early, Middle, and Late Axes), and Warren Lamb’s Movement Pattern Analysis . Lamb, a student of Rudolf Laban, looks at movement to understand people’s decision making patterns. What results did you get? Tell us about it in the comments section below, and please share with friends! About the Author: Julianna Hane traded life on a cotton farm to become a dancer and aerialist. She is the author of the Aerial Teacher's Handbook and Director of Training for Born to Fly Productions. Making enough time for personal workouts in a busy aerial teacher’s schedule is a huge challenge. If you teach multiple classes each week and have other obligations like family, another job, performances, etc. then regular personal workout time often doesn’t make the cut.
We prioritize our time based on what we feel is most important. If I felt that personal workout time was very important, I would never cancel it without good reason. Personally, I struggle to keep workouts on the calendar, so writing this post is motivating me to honor my own training time. How do we perceive personal workout time as valuable? If you are an altruist, know that prioritizing workouts actually helps students because it refreshes the teacher. During workouts I get new insights about aerial theory that I share with students the next week. I also enter class with renewed excitement rather than boredom. When I take better care of myself and set the example, I can take better care of others. Once we get decide the value of personal workouts, how do we make time for them? Here are some ideas that I’ve found to be helpful. 1. Create a personal warm-up for yourself to do before you begin teaching each day. Our creative minds crave rituals. The repetition and predictability of a choreographed warm-up frees up brain space to discover new things and get new ideas. It also prepares the body/mind to work and focus in a specific way. 2. Give yourself deadlines. Is there an upcoming performance you’d like to be part of? Or perhaps your studio has a student showcase that could feature faculty work. If you commit to performing on a certain date, you will be motivated to train regularly and get an act together. 3. Do a week of training with an outside coach. This is a great ritual to do once a year. Either bring in a a coach from outside just for you, or go out-of-town to do a workshop. Being a student again is the most powerful process a teacher can go through. Remembering what it is like to learn new skills or train in a new way helps you empathize with your students. 4. Teach a class that forces you to do movement research. Teaching new material has always been a great motivator for me. Developing a new course will get you in the studio, and can improve your technique or creative process. What ways have you learned to protect your personal training time? Share your comments below with the Born to Fly community! About the Author: Julianna Hane traded life on a cotton farm to become a dancer and aerialist. She is the author of the Aerial Teacher's Handbook, Director of Training for Born to Fly. Julianna Hane
Growing up in the dance field, I remember teachers talking about the difference between giving class and teaching class. I think this idea can be applied to aerial teaching as well. Here is the difference according to dance educators: Giving Class When giving class, the teacher guides students through planned sequences so they can follow along. The teacher may somewhat tailor the class to the students, but only to a certain degree since this type of class is usually a master class (a one-time class with a guest instructor). In the aerial arts, giving class works well for workshop instructors who travel around and teach a wide variety of populations. It also works well when teaching a brand new group of students you have not worked with before (as in a new session or drop-in class). Workshops and master classes allow students to experience a different teacher’s point of view. It also requires less planning time on the part of the teacher since they usually teach the same workshop in different cities. (After all, how can a workshop teacher plan specifically for students they have never met?) I picture the teacher as the driver and students as passengers along for the ride. Teaching Class Teaching class, on the other hand, is a different animal. While teachers may still follow a class plan in this situation, the plan is tailored to the specific students who show up to that class week after week. The teacher also offers modifications and variations, and isn’t afraid to change course altogether based on the needs in the room that particular day. In the aerial arts. teaching class (instead of giving class) is more possible when the same students attend class over a longer period of time. In this situation, I imagine the teacher in conversation with the students at a dinner table. The teacher offers information, the students respond, the teacher answers back, and so on. Is one better than the other? Since both giving class and teaching class are effective formats, it is a completely personal choice as to which one you prefer. Some teachers find their niche as workshop teachers since they know how to give a really great class and reach a broad base of students in a short period of time. While I enjoy teaching workshops and meeting new people, my favorite is teaching class because of the back-and-forth conversation that occurs over a longer period of time. Do you notice a difference between workshop and weekly class teaching? Which do you prefer and why? Do you have any strategies that help you navigate classes versus workshops? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below! |
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